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Fears grow for displaced in Sri Lanka rebel zone as war intensifies
Written by: Thin Lei Win
AAid workers approach a U.N. compound in Vavuniya after a government order to leave the north. REUTERS/Joe Chan
By Thin Lei Win Aid workers fear uprooted civilians in the north of Sri Lanka could become trapped without enough assistance as fighting intensifies between government forces and separatist rebels. On Sept. 9, the government ordered the United Nations and international non-governmental organisations to move out of rebel-held areas in the north, saying it could not guarantee their safety. Many agencies, including the United Nations, had been operating from Kilinochchi town, the main base of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels. On Tuesday the military said they were within 5.5 km of Kilinochchi, a prized target as Sri Lanka's armed forces step up efforts to defeat a foe they have battled since 1983, in a war that has killed over 70,000 people. By the end of Tuesday, most relief groups, except local staff from the area and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), had relocated south to the government-controlled town of Vavuniya. The withdrawal has raised questions about the fate of the 167,000 people who have been displaced in the rebel-controlled districts of Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi since a shaky truce began collapsing in April 2006, most of whom are sheltering in welfare centres. "The most pressing concern is the plight of the innocent civilians who are trapped in the region and are unable to leave," said an aid officer who declined to be named. "It is the duty of all parties to ensure that these people are given freedom of movement to allow them to move to places of safety." In the last three months alone, between 70,000 and 85,000 people have fled their homes as the military pushed into the rebel territory in the north. The potential humanitarian consequences of civilians being unable to escape fighting in the war zone are enormous, aid workers told AlertNet. On Wednesday, the military said its jets had blasted a hideout of the leader of the Tamil Tiger rebels. But a pro-rebel web site, www.tamilnet.com, said the attack was on a "densely populated settlement" of refugees, and had wounded two people including a 14-year-old boy. The government has indicated it is prepared for up to 200,000 people to come to Vavuniya, behind the front lines. But aid agencies say there have been no organised efforts to move displaced civilians in rebel territory to safer areas. Even if they reach Vavuniya, it is unclear whether camps will be independently monitored or whether the displaced will be able to move freely, aid workers warn. The president has said the relocation of most international agencies from the north is a temporary measure. Yet amid uncertainty over when they will be allowed to return, there are concerns over food security, shelter, water and sanitation, and freedom of movement for the displaced population. Already continuous heavy fighting, including aerial bombardments, in areas close to Kilinochchi town has prompted many to move again, according to the United Nations. "From our point of view, the trauma of all this for children, to study in an environment where war is going on, is not helpful," said Menaca Calyaneratne, head of communications for Save the Children Sri Lanka. "For the people as well as the children, the psychological effects will have to be addressed, and addressed very urgently." Save the Children, which has pulled out staff to Vavuniya, said at least 30,000 schoolchildren are among the displaced. In response to the growing fears, Jeevan Thiagarajah, executive director of the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies, an association of relief groups, told AlertNet there are structures in place to take care of civilians following the withdrawal of most international aid agencies. He said local aid workers could continue to work with relevant government departments as volunteers, and food and other relief items could be provided through government convoys. But those directly affected by the fighting in rebel territory appear to have less confidence in contingency plans to help them. Anxiety over their future spilled over on Friday when a few hundred protestors prevented a small convoy of U.N. and other agency vehicles from leaving. "The consequences are serious," said another aid worker who is familiar with the crisis. "And they will be exacerbated by the fact that these agencies who have the capacity to (provide humanitarian aid) have been banned from conducting their operations."
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5 responses to “Fears grow for displaced in Sri Lanka rebel zone as war intensifies”
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Thin Lei Win joined AlertNet in June 2008, becoming the first AlertNet journalist to be based in Asia. Prior to joining AlertNet, Thin, born and raised in Myanmar and now living in Bangkok, worked at trade publications in Singapore and most recently as a freelance writer in Vietnam. She has a Masters in Multi-Media Journalism from Bournemouth University.
18 Sep 2008 08:33:32 GMT
All Sri Lankans appreciate the generous work done by the UN to help displaced people. I hope UN staff also raised the same concerns to the terrorist LLTE and convince them not to use civilans for their human shileds and to let the people leave to safe areas out side their shinking terrritory.
We salute the UN for not allowing to be used as a propaganda tool of the LTTE.18 Sep 2008 11:47:23 GMT
There is no freedom of movement in the rebel held areas anyway. If there is a freedom of movement and there is a shortage of food and water they would come to government held areas. So international community should be aware of who to trust bunch of savages who kill innocent civilians by blasting suicide bombs or a responsible government.
13 Oct 2008 11:15:12 GMT
why does the srilankan not allow the western media to visit the northeast and see for them selves the situation of the tamils ?..why is the srilankan army 99% sinhalese ?..the tamils and the sinhalese have a very difrent langauge and religion and culture.. ever since the british left the whole island ot the sinhalese to rule there has been state sponsored ethinic cleansing against the tamils.. even the Tsunami aid was not given the the tamils and diverted to the sinhalese areas.. please read the ww.AHRC.HK website (run by a sinhalese)to see srilankan news
19 Oct 2008 21:40:47 GMT
The reason for 99% of the Sri Lankan army to consist of Sinhalese is because most of the poor in the country are Sinhalese and their only choice of getting job is to join the Army. Since the early 1970's Tamil youths were brain washed by the extremist Tamil elements discouraging them from joining the Army. Instead they were used by the Tiger supporters to be trained in certain specialised fields both in Sri lanka as well as in West, to support future terrorist activities. Very similar to Al Qaeda's strategy to place their supporters in key US & European facilities. It should be noted that bulk of the terrorist funding through the TRO (Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation) which is an LTTE managed bogus charity, came in to the country on the pretext of Tsunami funding. It is quite surprising to note that most of the Tsunami funding channelled through TRO has been used for buying arms instead of buying food for the innocent Tamil population. Another important factor is that the Sri Lankan government maintained all key essential services in the war zone and even feeds the 'Terrorists' as most of the food sent to the war zone are plundered by the LTTE!. Despite this the government continues to feed the people in the war zones. The LTTE on the other hand sells back the food given free by the government and forces innocent Tamil civilians to build bunkers and fight against the Army in exchange of food !!
As far as power sharing is concerned, there are over 50 democratically elected Tamil members of parliament amongst 200 odd MPs in Sri Lanka's parliament and approx 75% of the Tamil MPs are against the LTTE and separatist ideas. The Eastern province is governed by a former LTTE is rebel whilst many cabinet Ministers of Tamil origin hold key positions in the Sri Lankan government. In addition to that many Tamil government servants, professionals and a total population of approx 2 million Tamils live quite well in majority Sinhalese areas although none of the Sinhalese live in LTTE dominated areas. It's actually the Sinhalese who were facing genocide in majority Tamil areas and they have been chased out by the LTTE in the form of ethnic cleansing!!31 Oct 2008 12:36:44 GMT
Hi My Friends: Please try to understand why all of this arm struckle happening in Srilanka. The peacefully agitation was stopped my Sinhala Buddist racist mobs under the controll of the SLK Goverment people. Tamil people went through denial of everything in their last 60 years. These the ground facts forced Tamil people to took up arms to defend for their rights. Due to this war look how many thousand innocent Sinhala friends died, how many Tamils died. We have to look at actual problem rather than who do what, who is wrong? who is terrorist? so please make aware of sinhala people that unless Tamil people secure their rights the sinhala people can't live in peace of mind. We the srilankan people get together form a team to defend every single srilankan who are suffering from their rights, language, religion, culture. See how many tamil politician, media people, student, teacher, lawyer has been murdered by SLK Goverment agents and paramilitary. why man all of this killing mentality al! l of you guys are having. What are you going to do with empty land which is belongs to Tamil people?